Local Metastasis to the IMN chain

Anonymous

Local Metastasis to the IMN chain

peppopat

I had an MRI done five days ago and yesterday I got the report. Not good. Actually it’s a crazy report telling me that I need 4 biopsies!! Apparently, have an enlarged axilla lymph node in a breast that never ever had cancer and still does not, according to this new report. In the other breast I have now a suspected local recurrence including a node in the IMN chain. Has anyone else here ever been told they need to get their IMNchain biopsied? Has anyone here ever been treated for a disease that lymph node in the IMN chain? There’s just not a lot out there about having a diseased lymph node in the breast itself

This is what I been able to find for a summary of what this diagnosis is:

For over a century, there has been considerable interest in the management of regional lymph node metastasis in patients with primary breast cancer. Since the advent of sentinel lymph node biopsies, there has been renewed interest in the management of patients with metastasis to the internal mammary nodes. The appropriate management of these patients has not yet been established. Some investigators propose that biopsy of the internal mammary sentinel node may provide additional prognostic information which might be used to guide the administration of systemic adjuvant therapy. Additionally, it has been suggested that patients with metastasis to the internal mammary sentinel node may benefit from radiotherapy to the internal mammary nodal chain. Clinical trials are needed to resolve these issues. Internal mammary sentinel node biopsy in patients with primary breast cancer should be considered investigational, and conducted only in the context of clinical trials.

Thanks in advance for any input shared😣

Meow13

MRIs are kind of tricky they are notorious for false positive. It happened to me on reconstructed DIEP side, no breast tissue, but it lit up as a problem. They went right to MRI guided biopsy. It turned out to be fat necrosis. When I had my yearly mammogram a couple months later they could see more of what was happening. My oncologist was shocked to see changes over 5 years after reconstruction. He said it is unheard of, well it happened.

So they think there are 4 spots to separately biopsy in the IMN chain? Since it was found with the MRI they will probably want to do MRI guided biopsies.

Let us know what happens. I don't know any BCO members that have had this. What are the risks?